Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Blasts from the past

Okay, I'm going to try my best not to get all "airy fairy" about this, but I must say this has been one strangely aligned week. You see two old friends, and one not that old--one dating back from my high school days, one from my early twenties, the third from just over a year ago--just happened to roll back into my life this week. I use the word "roll" since all were cycling connections.

As I get older--yep, I'm looking down the barrel at 40--there is this little piece of my mind that hovers a bit too long on what/who I was when I was in my teens and twenties. Not that I want to relive my twenties or even go back to who I was, but once in a great while, I like to think of the places I lived, the rides I did, the mountains I climbed, the people I tried to keep up with...you get the picture. Along with that, comes thinking about old friends. Some are still with me, others I've lost touch with. This week, I got the wonderful treat of reconnecting with three I had lost touch with.

One of these old friends, a person I hadn't talked to or seen since my teens, came into my life through this very blog. We had become friends through bike racing, and this common connection is what made our opening conversation flow like we never lost touch. For that, I am so thankful I live in the age of the internet (you will rarely hear me say this by the way). The second friend, someone back from my Bend, OR days in the mid-late nineties, will be in Madison for Trekworld. Since he owns a bike shop out there, once a year he makes the pilgrimage to Wisconsin to be dazzled by their new product. Until a few years ago, I had lost complete touch with this friend as well, but it was the bike which somehow brought us back together. The third friend is a person I actually wrote a post about. He came into my, and my cycling circle's life, made a huge impact, and then promptly left in one year's time. This week, I inwardly celebrated that he will be moving back to Madison for a job--along with riding and beer drinking of course.

I have written several times about the bicycle being the greatest connector and how many amazing people have come into my life through this inanimate object, but it's true. There are no words to express how lucky I feel to have so many kind, generous, loving people in my life--and most of these relationships have sprung from the biking community.

So here is where the real fun begins. If I count up how many stellar relationships I've already made through this one object in forty years, I can't wait to see what my life will look like when I'm eighty. For those who think turning forty is a nail in the coffin, maybe you just aren't surrounding yourself with the right connectors. Thank you universe for creating the bicycle!

About Me

For me, bikes=freedom. Bikes, however, are not my entire life. When not two-wheeling, you'll find me traveling, hiking, gardening, cooking and drinking good beer/wine.
If you have questions feel free to contact me at: kierstin@harborathletic.com
I also write a monthly column for Silent Sports magazine (www.silentsports.net) and once in awhile write for the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation where I'm currently a board member (www.bfw.org).